pwn

pwn

In gaming, to trounce an opponent. To be "pwned" is to be defeated unmercifully. The term has also come to mean "hacked." For example, the website www.haveibeenpwned.com lists the top 10 website breaches, and people can check to see if their email address was compromised.

Pronounced "pone," "pwen," "pawn" or "pun," the derivation of the term is not definitively known. Some believe it came from a common typo of the word "own" when typing too quickly "I own you!" On a QWERTY keyboard, the "o" and "p" keys are next to each other. See hack.

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